I’ve had quite an active summer so far. Summer started in May for me. Kenn gave me a wonderful birthday gift…….a Hawaiian cruise. I’ve been to Hawaii a couple of times, but have never cruised there. It’s a beautiful place, but boy howdy, is it far away! We caught a plane in Dayton, Ohio. Two and a half hours later, we changed planes in Dallas. Three and a half hours later, we changed planes in LA. A whopping eight hours later, we landed in Honolulu to begin our cruise. We got to see five different islands, and snorkel in some of the most beautiful areas in the world. We ended our trip with a tour of Pearl Harbor, which was quite a moving experience.

The weekend after Hawaii was Camp Wakonda, a yearly family reunion for Kenn’s family. It’s always held Memorial Day Weekend and was quite fun. There were lots of games, even more food, and some of the guys (mine included) shot off rockets for the family to watch and the kids to chase. During a past camp experience, Kenn managed to launch a rocket and set someone’s tent on fire when it returned to earth. No excitement like that this year, thank the Good Lord!

When we returned to Kenn’s house, I picked up the pups from the kennel. They were in desperate need of grooming, and, although I had never used the grooming services at their Ohio kennel, I decided to give it a go. Welllll……..the groomer obviously had never groomed a Bichon Frise before, because when they came walking out, my jaw hit my chest! There stood my babies with a buzz cut! Every time I looked at Krystal, I thought of a cross between a meerkat and a plucked chicken. At almost 15 years old, she has the stance of a bulldog (Bichons are not supposed to stand that way) and her newly trimmed fur accentuated her bowed legs. She walks a little like Nana walked in her 90’s, with a spread out shuffling gait. The young lady at the kennel said sweetly ‘Are they cut a little too short?’ when she saw my mouth flung open and my saucer eyes. ‘I’ve never seen them like that’ said I. She goes ‘I’ll make a note of that for next time’ to which I just smiled and thought ‘no need Sweetheart…..there won’t be a next time!’ Casey’s hair has started growing back, although I think it will be months before either of them get the rounded Bichon looking head. Krystal’s hair on her back is so thin, I’m concerned she will get a sunburn when she’s outside. I obviously kept them away from mirrors so they wouldn’t get depressed.

My last trip was to Panama City Beach with my mom, sister and her family, and brother and his family. Kris and Lesley, my nephew and his wife, have two sweet little ones, who were the sparkle of our trip. We all stayed in a beautiful house about 50 yards from the beach. The best part was when Barry, my brother, picked up a towel and blew his nose into it before he realized it was a stranger’s towel. He quickly folded it and put it back. Now, I think he should have gone ahead and stolen it, because personally, I would prefer my towel stolen than to dry off in someone’s snot. Just sayin……

OK, I found Krystal just sitting and staring into my shower. No one was in there……she was just staring at that strange looking dog in the glass. Bless her heart.